The M word
by MorellHunt
Summary: Mysteries of the magnificent and massive mechanical macrocosm, meticulously maintained by the malicious and magnanimous nonmortals. Memorable moments from the maiden years of the meddling mischiefmaker. And much more.Focus on Makai's past, Mara and Urd
1. Prologue

**_Disclaimer: _**The characters, places and concepts used in this piece of fiction belong to Kosuke Fujishima, the author of Ah! My Goddess. I don't own them, nor do I particularly want to. In addition to that, the story contains playful references to many books/movies and so on, but nothing serious enough to really be disclaimer-worthy.

**_Author's notes:_ **I have always felt that both the side-characters and the world of goddesses and demons in A!MG do not get nearly as much attention and depth as they deserve, so this is a small literary project to fix that to an extent. The fic aims to tell a story of the past of one of such "pretty-important-but-not-really-recognised-as-such" character, and in doing so provide glimpses of the world of immortals as a whole: from their culture to weather and favourite hang-out places of little divine/demonic teenagers.

This doesn't have the analytical aspirations of Timotheus' articles – it's more of the mirror of the AMG world and that particular character's childhood/youth, as I see them. A bit of harmless fun, really.

Yours, Asterdw.

P.S. English is not my first language, so please feel free to correct me when I start abusing it.  
P.P.S. Oh, and about that summary...I was bored. Need I say more?

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**"The M-word"**

_Prologue _

The sun was slowly setting over the mountain range in the distance, colouring the grim and barren landscape in all imaginable shades of red and violet There was something unmistakably sinister in this view, as if the sharp black teeth-like mountain peaks were tearing the fabric of the crimson sky, becoming fully covered in the thin veil of blood gushing from the celestial wound. Despite its menacing undertones, it was still a breathtaking view, and one that didn't reveal itself to the locals very often, as the sky was typically obscured by heavy, almost lead-laden storm clouds. 

Easily lost among the sharp silhouettes of the peaks was another one, equally dark and egded, but artificial. It belonged to a stone castle with tall spires and lacy openwork ornaments on the windows and open galleries. In the main courtyard of the structure there was a small child, hardly older than 3 years, who was looking intently at the sky. If this was all there was to the picture, it would be natural to assume that this was, perhaps, a servant girl who found a spare moment to marvel at the sunset. But the expensive, militaristic garments on the girl, the occasional apprehensive glint in her eyes and the several battlesuit-clad young women surrounding the little figure proved the initial hypothesis wrong on all accounts. If the girl turned around for a moment she would probably catch a glimpse of a dignified man watching the whole scene from a window, but she never did.

The sun had almost disappeared behind the mountains when a black dot appeared just over the horizon, growing quickly and soon turning out to be a cloaked broom-rider. An approving murmur travelled through the lines of the guards who had clearly grown tired of waiting around, and even the silent observer in the window nodded with satisfaction and closed the curtain. Their relief clearly wasn't shared by the centrepiece of the scene, who, upon noticing the approaching shape, just lowered her head and bit her lip with her tiny fangs.

The scarlet tip of the setting sun was still showing over the peaks when the broom took off the ground again, now carrying a passenger.

ooo

_The data strings - the roots - of Yggdrasil intertwine intricately, joining together in elaborate and seemingly chaotic patterns which form a great multitude of worlds, all of them pierced, entangled, created and sustained by the endless data flows. But the heart of the World Tree is markedly different. It is the core of the whole creation, glimmering with the fullness and clarity of its existence, the first cause of all things. It lies where the Nidhogg, the Dragon, gnaws at Yggdrasil, twisting and transforming the latter's original data forms with its own continuous input. It is the fusion of these two separate origins that creates the data strings, the fabric of the universe. _

_In addition to that, it gives rise to the existence of peculiar realm, a physical manifestation of the two distinct data systems and their inevitable union. That realm is so uniform at the most basic level, but marked by so many cosmetic differences that it is nearly impossible to decide whether it is one world or many. Only the Almighty knows the answer but He clearly prefers to keep it secret as He rests on His throne, looking over the picturesque grassy hills and shimming white walls of proud and graceful cities populated by His most loyal aides. _

_Travelling away from Almighty's residence, however, is accompanied by a dramatic change in the scenery, as the tranquil green planes are replaced by a burnt out lifeless wasteland, which gets increasingly emptier and blurrier, as if the very reality of the place were waning. Eventually one is bound to reach a point where even the dimensions seem get mixed up and distorted so that keeping one's surroundings in order requires exceptional powers in data analysis and manipulation. _

_Despite their chaotic nature, those borderlands are actually far from being empty or void of purpose. Firstly, at places the data fog condenses enough to form solid bubbles of stable existence, which offer home to fortresses, secret shrines and sometimes even large neutral settlements. Secondly, the borderlands serve as an almost impenetrable defensive barrier between lush and peaceful territory of Almighty's influence and… the other place. _

_The need for the barrier becomes apparent for anyone who manages to pass through areas of dimensional turbulence, because soon the wastelands start to feel less empty again. A patch of yellowish grass, scorched by the red and unwelcoming sun, a pile of black boulders, a bubbling stream of muddy water, a gorge, a mountain ridge on the horizon. From there on it isn't long before finding yourself in an inherently hostile environment, twisted, rough, wild and unpredictable, much like its inhabitants. _

_Now, keep your head low to protect your eyes in the sandstorms, mind your step on the rocky terrain, take a moment to admire a black gothic castle on the edge of the cliff…_

_Welcome to Hell._

_-----------------------_

_TBC  
_


	2. Scene 1

**_Author's notes: _**Um. Hi there... First things first: I'm ill, so it's a pretty bad chapter and I'm sure I've missed a lot of spelling mistakes. Sorry. I'll try to edit it when my head clears a bit. Second things second: I haven't mentioned the main character's name yet, but it's not an OC. I actually hope it's fairly obvious who the little bratty kid is, but if not, it will be revealed soon enough.

By the way, if you like reading this, thank **LadyKleo**. I'm always on the verge of discontinuing this story because of the lack of time, but she inspires me to keep going.

Hope you enjoy this.

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**_"The M word" _**

_ Chapter 1_

The Count of Bravil lingered at the window for a few seconds, struggling with the sudden urge to watch the events in the courtyard for at least one more moment, a tiny fraction of a second, just a quick glance, nothing more… But he knew all too well what was going do happen, and there was no reason to torment himself further with that monument to his imprudence. It was wrong to say that he was completely immune to the pangs of guilt that anyone would have naturally felt when giving away their only child, but the scene unravelling beneath the windows also made the Count feel defeated and humiliated, which was far worse.

He sunk into a nearest armchair and allowed his blurred gaze to wander around the poorly lit room in a desperate search for something that would take his mind off the unpleasant thoughts. His eyes finally rested on the enormous animated map which glimmered over all available wall space above the main working terminal.

"Bravil..." The Count rolled the name on his tongue and immediately felt the tension leave his body. "I have made a grave mistake in choosing the wrong side,but I still have you…" He lowered his eyelids and leaned back in the armchair, fully engrossed in savouring the retained power over his realm.

It was nothing but a small county, mountainous and barren, almost bordering the Wastelands, with little to offer to the Kingdom both in terms of natural resources and magically gifted personnel, but it still was the only thing that the Count could be said to truly love. There was a certain something about it, he used to boast his friends. Its grim peaks and small valley settlements had always stood adamantly in their place, defying time and change, as true fortresses of the core values of Hell. Its every rock and every house were alive with demonic tradition, stubbornly preserved through the centuries of Niflheim's turbulent history.

"It makes you proud to be a demon…" The Count murmured dreamingly but then immediately frowned at being painfully jerked back to the painful reality. It was very hard to maintain this pride given the current sorry state of affairs in Hell. Such abominable disregard of everything that self-respecting demons held dear, so many noble and loyal men, much like himself, unjustly punished, the royal family itself irrevocably tainted by divine blood. And to think that it all started so well...

ooo

_In fact, it all began just a couple of years ago, on an auspiciously stormy day, with hurricanes, large-scale destruction and some casualties to mark the special occasion. That day Daimakaichou proudly announced the birth of her first child, and all demons of Hell rejoiced as one at the news, or at least pretended to, prudently assuming that it would be helpful in advancing their agenda in the long run. The little girl wasn't shown even to most loyal subjects, but everyone was too busy celebrating to take notice of that._

_Time passed, and the Queen turned out to be perplexingly reluctant to introduce her little daughter to the general public. Even after the child's third birthday, very few of even most high-ranking councillors could boast the honour of having met the princess. This secrecy hadn't stirred any suspicion, though. On the contrary, everybody commend the Queen's prudence. After all, given the back-stabbing and scheming nature of most members of the court, it was only natural to take most serious precautions, especially when dealing with a defenceless and easily influenced figure with such political leverage._

_All this changed, when the information about the princess' second parent had begun to surface. The rumours spread like wildfire, and the Queen did nothing to quench them. In fact, she soon publicly confirmed that her daughter was only a half-demon, and her short but eloquent speech commenting on the issue could be most accurately summarised with a phrase "So what?"_

_This overt challenge, and was treated as such by a group of councillors, who immediately voiced great resentment about such betrayal of demonic values by the Queen herself, declared that they here prepared to purge Hell of divine taint by any means necessary and started preparing a motion of no-confidence to be considered by Supreme Council and a violent takeover in case it failed to go through._

_It is now hard to judge, how many of them were genuinely driven by patriotic feelings and how many just tried it as an opportunity to climb the ranks, but one thing is painfully clear: they didn't even get as far as drafting the motion. The very first meeting of this opposition group was gatecrashed by the battle legion, led by the Queen herself, all members were arrested on the spot and its leaders put before the tribunal for treason. Hell's population of sentient animals had increased overnight._

_The beheaded movement wasn't seen as a threat, so its less active members were just requested to attend personal meetings with Daimakaichou, which was an excruciating punishment by itself, and given a chance to prove their loyalty once again._

_So, one could say that for an aspiring revolutionary Count of Bravil got off relatively easy. After all, one child taken away and a temporary suspension of voting rights in the Supreme Council were nothing compared to an eternity in a sealing mirror._

ooo

"Can we make a stop? It's cold, I'm tired, my fingers are numb, and I think I'm about to slide off this thing at any moment. I hate flying!"

"Shut it, will you?"

"But I'm going to fall down and die! And Hild-sama will punish you for not keeping me safe. And it will be a horrible punishment because she's scary, and twisted, and wicked…"

"That she is, but who do you think _you _are, threatening me with the wrath of the Queen of Hell?"

"Um… A hostage? You can't harm me until she commands you to, you know!"

"Sorry to break it to you, little bugger, but with a power-hungry father like that, you'd make the worst blackmail material in all Creation. And the Queen would have to be a complete cretin to think otherwise. So, the reason you've been summoned to the capital is that Nidhogg has classified you as having First Class licence potential, and we've been ordered to ensure that your power gets used to serve the interests of all Hell, not just one batshit insane councillor. And you know what that means? It means that your life is not worth a damn unless you live up to those expectations. Never forget this, kid, and it may well save your neck more than once when you start your training. Got it?"

"You… you…. Yes, I got it."

"Good for you."

"You've been kinda nice to me. What's your name?"

"Eisa."

"Hey, Eisa… I won't be able to live up to Hild-sama's expectations as a puddle of blood on the ground, will I?"

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_TBC_.

By the way, sorry that I haven't replied to your reviews. I do appreciate the feedback I've gotten. :)


	3. Scene 2

**_Author's notes:_** Um... Hi all. Happy New Year and all that! A couple of words about this small slice-of-life-ish update. Firstly, it's small. Like, really, ridiculously short. If you like to read your stories in larger chunks just give this one a miss until the next couple of "chapters" and read them all in one go. Sorry about that. Second... um... it's pretty unpolished. I'd written it a long time ago and I don't really like the way it turned out. I've been meaning to go back to it and fix some things, but with loads of life stuff to sort out, I really can't spare the time. So... yeah. Sorry if you don't like it. I hate half-assedly written fanfics myself, so I feel guilty about posting this, but Kleo is kind of forcing me to. Yes.

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It was early evening, just after the end of the official working hours, and the roads of Makai Central were at their busiest. Waves of exhausted demons rolled down the narrow streets to the monorail stops and main teletransportation gate, uniting the district in a rush-hour symphony of bickering, gossip, banging doors, starting vehicles, screeching trains, public service announcements and an occasional outburst of laughter. At such moments the heart of Hell's government was truly a bustling metropolis, but were anyone to be bored or lost enough to stray into this administrative area even half an hour later, he would have been welcomed by dull and empty streets, framed by lines of buildings which weren't even remotely acquainted with the concept of architectural beauty. There'd still be a few lights in windows here and there but very few demons with cushy government jobs really had to stay overtime - the infernal bureaucracy was practically self-perpetuating.

One building, however, would remain the same thought the day, looming over the city, never sleeping, always well-lit, always full of workers and always only a few stories short of literally scraping the sky. Connecting the earth and clouds, emanating stability and only weakly concealed menace, it easily seem to be an axis around which the madness of Makai revolved. And in more ways than one this was more that just a figure of speech, for the Makai Central Tower was, in fact, home to Nidhogg Operations Service, Asgard and Earth Liaison Offices, Training Academy and, first and foremost, it was a residence of the Great Ruler of Hell.

The lights in few remaining occupied offices went out soon after the end of the peak hours and the unfortunate overtimers hurried towards the public transport arteries, trying to leave the centre before it was completely enveloped in out-of-working-hours darkness.

Nothing would happen here until the next morning, and there was no longer anything interesting to see outside of the window but she was still stubbornly squatting on the windowsill, her forehead pressed against the glass and her eyes fixed on the lifeless streets beneath with far greater intensity than the view seemed to warrant. This is how she may have been intending to spend the whole night but she was soon snapped out of this trance-like state by a high-pitched childish voice in her ear.

"Mara! You shouldn't be here now! It's past curfew time!"

"Well, you're breaking the rules too, aren't you?" She turned away from the window to face a pair of indignant eyes, staring at her from beneath a dishevelled mass of red hair.

"It's different... I'm on corridor duty!" The other girl beamed with pride and self-importance. "I was told that I could be in charge of our block while everyone is out attending the licence graduation ceremony!"

Mara grimaced at the mention of the event.

"Kenny. I. Don't. Care."

"Don't you dare to call me Kenny!" the girl squealed in a brave and unusual attempt to be assertive about something, but shrunk back under her friend's mocking stare and just flopped onto the vacant half of the windowsill. Several minutes passed, dripping with brief and intense sulkiness that is so common for young children.

Finally, Kenaz spoke up again.

"You are mad at them about the ceremony, aren't you?"

"Well, what do you think?" Mara snapped with vehemence that made Kenny regret the question. "You know it's the grandest thing ever! Everybody keeps going on an on about how awesome it is and how it's their highlight of their year here. How it it's the sole reason to aim to be the top of the class because you get to go. Well, I am finally the top of our class! Why didn't they take me along?"

"You know we can't go until we are 7," Kenny tried to be the voice of reason, "You have to be accepted into that licence training course thing before you'll allowed to represent the Academy…"

Mara groaned and clenched her fists: "But that's two years away! I could be dead in two years! Or returned to my father," – she shivered at the thought – "it's just not fair!"

"It's not like you can't do anything about it…" Kenaz was going to shrug her shoulders by froze midway in that movement upon noticing a sudden excited glint in the other girl's eyes. She had obviously said something wrong. Very wrong.

Mara jumped to her feet, grinning from ear to ear.

"Of course! Everyone's there… No one's gonna stop… Guards are all outside the bui…Why hadn't I thought of it before? Thanks!" She dashed down the corridor, too engrossed in her new plan to finish any of the sentences and take any notice of Kenaz who was gasping for air and staring at her in pure, uncontrolled, animal horror.

"You…what? No! You're going to get in trouble!" She finally came to her senses enough to try to prevent the impeding catastrophe. "_We're_ going to get it trouble! Stop!"

The blond ponytail disappeared behind the corner, signalling complete lack of attention, but Kenaz still found herself unable to hold back the last desperate plea:

"Please! _Not when I'm on corridor duty!_"


	4. Scene 3

**_A vaguely important_ _announcement:_**. As you may or may not know, this fanfic is being written essentially as a gift to a good friend of mine. I'm putting it up on just in case anyone else is interested. Unfortunately, I have no way of telling whether anyone is reading it or not, so I have a request:

If you are reading this and want it to continue doing so, could you please just drop me a line in reviews (or personal messages)? You don't really have to tell me whether you like the story or not - I'm really not fishing for complements here. It's just that if no one is reading the story here, I could save myself some time by not having to format it for and so forth

Many thanks in advance.

UPD: Just because there seems to be some misunderstanding - I am _not_ blaming anyone for not reviewing. I don't actually think that the story is _worth_ reviewing myself, since it's so dragged out and slow-going. However, in this case I _need_ to know whether there will be any people here who will actually be affected if I stop publishing it on and letting me know in reviews is one way of doing it, even though I'd actually much rather prefer the PMs.

And now on to the story:

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It is funny how easy it is to slip unnoticed into even most restricted areas when you are a child old enough to know what you are doing but young enough to not attract attention. Mara had already perfected this skill in her after-curfew escapades which usually ended with some of her classmates waking up in the morning to find their ears suddenly long enough to trail on the floor behind them. But never before had she felt such exhilaration of putting her abilities to an ultimate test. She was not going to be cheated out of what she had rightly deserved and no one was going to stop her.

The girl ran noiselessly, keeping to the shadows of a deserted corridor and trying to guess what direction she was supposed to be going in. She had been to the public event floor of the Makai Central Tower on school visits before, but now, finding herself alone in a dimly lit labyrinth of tapestry-covered walls and unlabelled doors, Mara felt a pang of regret for having spent most of those trips playing pranks instead of looking around and learning to tell apart the seemingly identical hallways by the content of demon-glorying murals and curtains on the walls. Had she known more about corporate morale, she would certainly have congratulated the architects on their impressive effort of sending it through the roof with appropriate use of epic art, when everything else failed.

However, Mara's thoughts at the time were preoccupied with much simpler matters – she had clearly discerned the approving buzz of voices in the distance, followed by even more audible round of applause. Her heart jumped. The goal was just a few halls away.

Too caught up in savouring the sweet moment of triumph, the little trespasser didn't immediately realise that she was also hearing another sound, an echo of quickly approaching footsteps, firm, measured and unmistakably belonging to a patrolling guard. Mara froze on the spot, staring wide-eyed into the darkness but being able to see nothing but gruesome mental images of consequences of being caught. Being kicked out of school, losing the licence, and, what's worse, Kenny's conceited lectures about having warned her about all this – Mara snapped out of her trance and darted to the nearest curtain – No! She was way too close to her goal to be stopped now.

She threw herself behind the tapestry and tried to sprawl herself against the wall. Unfortunately, the empty air behind her back offered less much support than the expected coldness of the stone, and with a small yelp Mara flopped through the concealed archway, smacking her head on the black marble floor. She spent a few long seconds staring at the ceiling through the mist of swelling tears, but the view was soon obscured by a face of another girl leaning over her. Two pairs of eyes met, both revealing the same succession of confusion, relief and curiosity as both children wordlessly examined each other.

The silence was broken by the guard appearing menacingly in the doorway and then, almost immediately, recoiling in surprise.

"Ah… Urd-sama… Pleasure to meet you… Is everything in alright?" He finally mumbled, having much of his original presence and determination.  
"Yup. Can't you see - I'm just playing with a friend."  
"But she's not supposed to be here. And neither are you, I'm afraid. This floor is off-limits for tonight."  
"So what?" The new girl shrugged shoulders carelessly, having explored the limits of her impunity a long time ago.  
"You mother will hear about this," the guard threatened with a hint of desperation in his voice.  
"Whatever! She doesn't waste time on the likes of you anyway…"

The guard sighed in exasperation and hurried out of the room to escape further embarrassment. Urd waited until he was well out of earshot before turning to her new acquaintance once again.

"He's not gonna tell on us," she said reassuringly. "They are all afraid to talk to mother anyway…"  
"Um…Mother?" Mara finally sat up and was rubbing the back of her head, baffled by the events of the last minutes.  
"Yeah. You know, the one who rules this pla-- No! Stop trying to kneel before me! For a second there you actually seemed like fun, don't you dare to spoil that by being just like everyone else!"  
"Um… Okay…" The blond girl mumbled as stood up and raised her head enough to make eye contact. "I'm Mara… From the Training Academy, down below. Best student there." She tilted her head and smiled nervously, baring her tiny fangs.  
"Urd. Princess." The other girl introduced herself with a self-satisfied smirk. "Are you here for that celebration thing?"  
"I tried to get in there, yeah…" Mara found herself struggling to find any words at all under the inquisitive gaze of a pair of deep purple eyes.  
"Why?" Urd asked, confused, and then continued on without waiting for an answer. "I heard mother say that it will be "another one of those goddamn peacock parades". Dunno what it means, but it doesn't sound fun at all… I have a much better plan. Everybody's gawking at the silly parade, so I can sneak into the crystal gardens for receptions. They are pretty cool and I..um..need to get some ingredients there. It'll be so much fun…"

Urd paused for a moment before grabbing Mara around the shoulders and dragging her towards the door in the back of the room.

"And you're coming with me!"


	5. Scene 4

_Author's notes: _Oh dear. Almost a year since the last instalment and my writing hasn't improved even a bit. Sorry for the delay - university finals tend to do this to you...  
In any case, many thanks for your kind comments and PMs. They were (and still are) much appreciated.

---

It seemed like an eternity of walking. Mara's arm was getting stiffer by the minute, but Urd continued marching forwards, without any intention of slowing down or loosening her grip on the demon's hand. They followed countless corridors tuned only to find themselves in indistinguishable empty halls, which would be soon replaced by sets of stairs leading to a new part of the maze. The curtains, murals statues and doors soon stopped being landmarks and instead became an indiscernible blur of luxury.

It wasn't long before Mara realised she was completely lost and, despite herself, started feeling inklingsof respect and envy for her guide. Of course, there was nothing surprising about the princess, who must be able to roam around her domain freely, to know it like the back of her hand. But even so Mara couldn't help but admire how Urd was able to find her way through this endless labyrinth without faltering even once.

"Phew!" Urd suddenly let go of her hand and leaned against the wall. "That was fun!  
"What was?" Mara stared at her, still startled by the abrupt stop.  
"Showing you around the building, what else?"  
"But I live here…" Mara began, before an uncomfortable thought suddenly dawned on her: "Wait, you didn't know where you were going?"  
"I did! I was taking you to the… oh, right! Crystals. Well, this room looks familiar… We must be close!" Without warning, Urd dashed down the stairs and Mara had little choice but to follow. But despite Urd's constant assurances that they were almost there, it was a while before the girls fortuitously stumbled upon a passage leading their destination.

-o-

Gardens normally have some common properties: they are outdoors, they contain plants and they don't exist in Hell. The diplomatic Garden of Crystals, located in beneath the Makai Central Tower, lacked all of those. Its walls and vaults cave were clouded in shadows, but the echo, which carried every footstep or sigh through cave, left no doubt that the illusion of it being located in an infinite darkness was just that – an illusion. It was just a closed space, just like any other, apart from containing more crystals that anyone could have ever thought possible to find in one place.

They sneaked into the room and froze at the entrance, looking around so vigorously it was a miracle their heads didn't fall off from the effort.

"Wow…"  
Urd frowned. "What? I bring you into one of the most secret and important rooms of the palace! And all I get is "wow"?"  
"If it's so secret, why isn't it even guarded properly,_" _Mara pondered aloud, too astonished by the view to realise just who she was talking back to, "and why do they bring 'em gods and goddesses here for receptions?"  
"Well… Um…" Urd scratched her head. "I bet they bring them here because gods don't like darkness. And so it's easier to pressure them to agree to things because they want to get out quickly…"

"Nah. It's not like it's that dark here with all the crystals glowing from the inside. Look!" Mara crouched next to one of the shards rising from the floor along thepath and pointed at its base, which was pulsing with soft purple light. It was almost as if there was something moving there, right at its very core.

"They are not alive, are they?" She shivered at the thought.  
"Er…'course not. They are just… um…rocks we use for…something," Urd replied without much confidence. "Come on inside, let's find some larger ones!"

The girls walked down the dim-lit path in silence, astonished by the increasing intricacy of the crystal formations, as they watched the specimen become larger, split into branches and interconnect. The trail culminated with the large clearing, surrounded by a circle of most elaborate crystals, which bore an uncanny resemblance to glowing and slightly too angular trees.

"It's so cool!" Urd murmured as she approached one of the trees and flopped down on the ground next to it. "Right?" she added in a sharper tone, with a frown which made it clear that there was only one answer to this question.  
"Um… Yes!" Mara nodded enthusiastically. "So cool! So really, really, really…" She hurriedly added for more emphasis.

The princess grinned as she watched the little demon struggle for more ways to express her awe and gratitude. "It's okay. You can stop now…"She leaned against the tree and closed her eyes with a self-satisfied smirk still lingering on her lips.Mara spent a few very long minutes shifting from one foot to another, casting anxious looks at her companion and suddenly very aware of her royal status. However, the other girl now appeared to be completely oblivious to her presence, so Mara just gathered her courage and sat down next to her.

As soon as Mara's head touched the trunk, the feelings of inferiority and self-doubt immediately disappeared without a trace. She could feel the surrounding garden, Makai Central and the lands beyond the city limits, all easily within reach, all accessible and eager to belong to her, to twist to her every whim…  
"Wow… It's so much better than in classes…" Mara heard her own whisper somewhere in the distance and slowly opened her eyes to see Urd also slowly snapping out of her trance. "Classes?"  
"Um… Well… The ones where they teach you to develop your powers? How to get this… this feeling we had just now?" Mara explained. "Are royal demons seriously born already knowing all this? Wow…"  
"I wish," said Urd with a sigh. "Nah, I have to study with stupid boring trainers too…"  
"You don't like it? But it's so much fun to set fire to other student's clothes? And make them walk into invisible walls? And–"

Mara's tirade stopped in its tracks when she saw the other girl bite her lip and lower her head so much her eyes and red facial markings became completely hidden by the hair. Mara scratched her head and then nudged Urd on the shoulder.

"Um… Yeah. That's why you should come and join us some time! You are fun, so no one would mind, honest!"

There was a long pause where Urd just sat in silence. But just when Mara started to feel that her best intentions have gone unnoticed and felt her fist clenching from bitter disappointment, the princess raised her head, revealing a mischievous smile.

"Deal. I'll show you all what royal power and control are!"  
"Cool! So what are they?"  
"You will regret asking by the time I'm done with you!" Urd grinned, bouncing to her feet. "Right, so what did I come here for? Ingredients…" She rubbed her hands and proceeded towards the back of the clearing, where translucent column, connecting the rocky floor with the ceiling high above, beaconed with its clear icy glow.

Mara followed her, but every step she took toward the back of the garden came harder than the next one. She was reminded of the times back in Bravil, of walking up the slope towards the castle against the piercing blasts of mountain wind that would knock her off her feet the second she let her guard down. There wasn't even the tiniest of breezes in this cave but the feeling was still the same, as if the air itself was against her, resisting every movement and getting denser by the second. With every breath it would, part by part, replace the exhilarating confidence that only so recently overfilled her with numb emptiness.

The cave reverberated with the sound of another loud footstep, making Mara cast a nervous glance over her shoulder. _Nothing. No one… Just lots of sharp glowing rocks. _She raised her head with some difficulty and looked forward. _And Urd, going on without wussing out, right to that large shining column with spikes… _

"Huh? This one's different," Urd muttered, approaching her destination and leaning in closer to examine the azure web of tiny streams of light beneath flowing upward beneath the glassy surface.  
"Yeah. And I don't like it," Mara confessed, as she circled the pillar, eyeing it cautiously from the distance. "Let's go back to the other ones."

Urd wasn't blinking any more, her eyes firmly fixed on the pulsing core of the crystal.  
"Strange. It is humming... Mara, why don't others hum…?" The hollowness of her voice made Mara's heart sink into the ground.  
"What? I don't hear anything! Get away from there! Something is wr-- "  
"It must be really rare"-- Urd's hand slowly, as if unwillingly, reached out to one of the thin needle-like branches-- "I should get some..." Tiny fingers closed on their target.

Horrified, Mara watched the other girl's eyes roll back and mouth fall open, as she, convulsively, clenched the spike in her fistThe column shone brighter, now almost pushing the little demon away with almost tangible force.

"Urd!" Feral with fear, Mara threw herself at now almost solid light barrier again and again, kicking and clawing at empty air. Her body trembled from the strain as she forced her way through, spending every bit of power the child body could have. The surroundings swirled around her in a bizarre dance, jumping, jerking and turning, and the ground didn't take long to join in.

_Let's go... _Mara grabbed Urd's shoulder and whimpered in pain, as the wave of overwhelming force hit her. Billions of sharp needles pierced her body, and all she could see was light. And all she could feel was light. All she had ever known was light. Brighter and brighter. Images of patches of grass passed through her mind, alien and unwelcome. Bronze strings, stretched through infinity. Ornate archways. Screams. Blue glass. Alarm sounds. Sharp pain. . Shimmering rainbow disks, snapping into place.

More light…

_Somebody, anybody, he--_

"Help," Mara sobbed as the consciousness left her completely.


End file.
